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- Herausgeber: Epiphanius Wilson
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
The Egyptians have always been deeply impressed by the fact of human mortality, and much of their religious belief and religious ritual is taken up with the rites of burial, and detailed doctrines as to the experience of the soul after parting from the body. Their elaborate embalming of the dead springs from the desire to keep the mortal tenement prepared for the soul's return to it. In their Book of the Dead is a full series of prayers, songs, and incantations to be employed at funerals, and by the individual in his journey beyond the tomb. The funeral procession was a very noisy company; lamentations were heard through its whole length, but the burden of the hymns was always, “To the West.” This was enlarged upon, “To the West, the dwelling of Osiris; O Chief, as thou goest to the West, the Gods themselves lament, as thou goest to the West.”
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Ähnliche
Epiphanius Wilson
Egyptian Literature
UUID: 9f01bc24-b23e-11e6-acb7-0f7870795abd
This ebook was created with StreetLib Write (http://write.streetlib.com).
Table of contents
Introduction.
The Book Of The Dead
Egyptian Tales
The Tell Amarna Tablets Translated by C. R. Conder
The Great Tablet Of Rameses II At Abu-Simbel Translated by Edouard Naville
Hymn To Osiris (Stele of Amen-em-ha, Eighteenth Dynasty)
Travels Of An Egyptian In The Fourteenth Century B.C.
Dirge Of Menephtah Translated by S. Birch
Hymn To The Nile Translated by Rev. F. C. Cook
The Solemn Festal Dirge Of The Egyptians Translated by C. W. Goodwin
Hymns To Amen Translated by C. W. Goodwin
The Song Of The Harper Translated by Ludwig Stern
Hymn To Amen-Ra Translated by C. W. Goodwin
The Lamentations Of Isis And Nephthys Translated by P. J. De Horrack
The Litany Of Ra Translated by Edouard Naville
The Book Of Respirations Translated by P. J. De Horrack
The Epic Of Penta-Our Translated by C. W. Goodwin
Footnotes
Introduction.
The
wonders of Egyptian archæology are the latest and most precious
harvest of scholars and explorers. From Belzoni to Flinders Petrie
there has been a succession of discoveries in the valley of the Nile
with which it is hard for ordinary students to keep pace. Our
knowledge of Egyptian life today is far clearer and more complete
than Bentley's or Porson's acquaintance with the antiquities of
Greece and Rome, and we have far more complete access to the
treasures of Egyptian literature than Dante or Thomas Aquinas had to
the remains of Attic poets and mystics. We know exactly how an
Egyptian of the twelfth dynasty dressed; what was the position of
women in Egypt; and what uniform was worn by the Egyptian soldiers
who took part in the campaign against Khitasis. We can see Rameses II
riding in his war-chariot; we know the very names of the horses by
whose side his tame lion is running and thirsting for the blood of
his master's foes. We know all about the domestic animals, the
funeral customs, the trades, the gods, the agriculture of the Nile
valley thirty centuries ago. We see the whole many-sided civilization
portrayed in the brightest colors in the poetry, the books of ritual,
the hieratic inscriptions, the tablets, papyri, and hieroglyphics
which day by day come to light in exhaustless abundance from the
mounds and ruins of that fertile plain that stretches from Thebes to
the Mareotic lake.For
instance, we can learn exact particulars about the mode in which
Rameses II made war, from the poem of Penta-Our, a Theban writer of
the fourteenth century b.c. It is only by a figure of speech that
this poem can be called an epic; it is rather a historical narrative
couched in terms of poetic exaggeration with the object of flattering
the royal vanity of Pharaoh.The
campaign in which Rameses then engaged was directed against
Kadesh, a city built on an island in the Orontes. It is, according to
Penta-Our, inhabited by a people known as Khita, whose spies are
brought into the tent of Rameses and questioned as to the whereabouts
of the King of Kadesh. The spies are forced by blows to answer, and
they tell the Egyptian monarch that the King of the Khita “is
powerful with many soldiers, and with chariot soldiers, and with
their harness, as many as the sand of the seashore, and they are
ready to fight behind Kadesh.”The
King is very angry; for he had been deceived by false news to the
effect that his enemy had fled in terror to Khilibu. “The fault is
great,” he cries, “that the governors of the land and the vassal
princes of Pharaoh have committed, in neglecting to watch the
movements of the Khita.” He sends to bring back the legions he had
sent away, and meanwhile the approach of the enemy is announced. The
camp of Rameses is surprised by the Asiatics; many foot-soldiers are
killed before they can seize their weapons, but a faithful band
rallies in front of the royal quarters. Suddenly a cry is heard;
Rameses has quickly put on his armor, seized his lance, ordered his
war lion to be loosed, and dashed into the fight. Pharaoh with his
master of the horse, Menni, is soon hemmed in by foes. “My Lord, O
generous King!” cries Menni, “Egypt's great protector in the day
of battle! behold we stand alone in the midst of the enemy, for the
archers and the chariots have left us. Let us return, that our lives
may be saved. Save us, O my Lord, Rameses Miamun!” Then Rameses
called upon Amen, his god, and under his protection charged the
enemy, and “his hand devoured them in the space of an instant.”
Five times he rushed upon them, and five times they repulsed him. The
sixth time he breaks their ranks and regains his own lines. Then the
legions of Ptah, which had returned to the camp, join the battle, and
the Asiatics are routed. The first care of Rameses is to refresh his
brave horses, Victory-in-Thebes and Maut-is-Satisfied. Neither they
nor Rameses and his lion are wounded, though all stained with blood
and dust, while the head-plumes of the team are torn and tattered and
their caparison broken.This
is a brief account of the main incident in this Egyptian epic, which
is written with life-like detail and animation. The war
concludes with a treaty, and the marriage of Rameses with the
daughter of the King of Kadesh, so that henceforth “the people of
Egypt were of one mind with the princes of Khita, which had not been
the case since the god Rā.”The
Egyptians have always been deeply impressed by the fact of human
mortality, and much of their religious belief and religious ritual is
taken up with the rites of burial, and detailed doctrines as to the
experience of the soul after parting from the body. Their elaborate
embalming of the dead springs from the desire to keep the mortal
tenement prepared for the soul's return to it. In their Book of the
Dead is a full series of prayers, songs, and incantations to be
employed at funerals, and by the individual in his journey beyond the
tomb. The funeral procession was a very noisy company; lamentations
were heard through its whole length, but the burden of the hymns was
always, “To the West.” This was enlarged upon, “To the West,
the dwelling of Osiris; O Chief, as thou goest to the West, the Gods
themselves lament, as thou goest to the West.”Osiris
is the judge who weighs the souls, and allots them happiness or
misery, according to their deserts. “The Book of the Dead” is
interesting because it teaches how clearly and dogmatically the
solemn and precise Egyptian stated his views and held his convictions
concerning the unknown country. Four parts of man, it was said,
survive after death, namely, the soul, the spirit, the shadow, and
the double. The double remains in the tomb, and only leaves it in
search of food. Sometimes it feels its loneliness and avenges itself
upon near relations who have forsaken it. But the soul hurries to the
bar of Osiris, where Thoth weighs the heart in the scales, and the
innocent are admitted into the Field of Beans, a realm of fertility,
where wheat grows seven cubits high. Immortality is spent in
feasting, singing, conversation, and games. But the whole of this
wonderful book is well worth studying. It shows how what Addison
calls “this longing after immortality” led an ancient and deeply
religious people to attempt in their burial rites to rob even the
grave of its terrors, and conjured up out of the shadows of the tomb
a clear and distinct vision of future life, wherein man in his
complete individuality survived to all eternity.Among
the most important results of recent Egyptian exploration must be
reckoned the discovery of the tablets of Tell Amarna. Tell Amarna is
a village in Upper Egypt, and in a pit at the foot of the mountain,
at the base of which it stands, were discovered hundreds of these
relics, which have since been distributed among the museums of
London, Berlin, and Gizeh. The writing on these tablets is cuneiform,
and the matter is of profound historic importance, illustrating, as
it does, the relations between Egypt and western Asia in the
fifteenth century b.c. While the existence of these tablets proves
that cuneiform writing was common to Palestine and Syria as well as
the Euphrates Valley, yet curiously enough the manuscripts of Tell
Amarna are different from any of the same kind that have been found
elsewhere, and the language resembles somewhat the Hebrew of the Old
Testament.While
most of these tablets are letters and despatches from friendly powers
in Syria, and from vassal princes in Palestine, others contain
interesting legends. The letters are addressed to the Pharaohs known
as Amenophis III and Amenophis IV, who reigned in the sixteenth and
fifteenth centuries b.c.The
Egyptians employed what practically were three alphabets—the
hieroglyphic, the hieratic, and the demotic. The hieroglyph is a
symbol, denoting something without letters or syllables; as, pictures
of a bee stand for king. The hieratic handwriting was a transition
from symbols to primitive letters; the papyrus reed, cut in slices
and gummed together, was used as paper for this writing, much of
which is very beautifully executed in black and red inks. These
papyri are constantly being discovered, but perhaps the earliest
“find” of importance was that at Thebes in 1846, when a number of
literary compositions were brought to light which must have been
executed during the twelfth dynasty, about twenty-five centuries b.c.The
Egyptian Tales are works written in a lighter vein than the
literature we have already described. They will be read with delight,
and none the less so because they show that the Egyptians, who are
the Chinese of the Mediterranean, possess that saving quality in
literary and political life, namely, a sense of humor.
The Book Of The Dead
Translated by E. A. Wallis
BudgeA Hymn To The Setting SunA Hymn of Praise to Ra when he riseth upon the horizon, and
when he setteth in the land of life. Osiris, the scribe Ani,
saith:
“Homage to thee, O Rā, when thou risest [as] Tem-Heru-khuti
(Tem-Harmachis). Thou art adored [by me when] thy beauties are
before mine eyes, and [when thy] radiance [falleth] upon [my] body.
Thou goest forth to thy setting in theSektetboat with [fair] winds, and thy
heart is glad; the heart of theMātetboat rejoiceth. Thou stridest over the heavens in peace, and
all thy foes are cast down; the never-resting stars sing hymns of
praise unto thee, and the stars which rest, and the stars which
never fail glorify thee as thou sinkest to rest in the horizon of
Manu,1O thou who art
beautiful at morn and at eve, O thou lord who livest and art
established, O my lord!
“Homage to thee, O thou who art Rā when thou risest, and Tem
when thou settest [in] beauty. Thou risest and shinest on the back
of thy mother [Nut], O thou who art crowned king of the gods! Nut
doeth homage unto thee, and everlasting and never-changing
order2embraceth thee at morn
and at eve. Thou stridest over the heaven, being glad of heart, and
the Lake of Testes is content [thereat]. The Sebau Fiend hath
fallen to the ground; his arms and his hands have been hacked off,
and the knife hath severed the joints of his body. Rā hath a fair
wind; theSektetboat goeth
forth and sailing along it cometh into port. The gods of the south
and of the north, of the west and of the east, praise thee, O thou
divine substance, from whom all forms of life come into being. Thou
sendest forth the word, and the earth [pg 004] is flooded with
silence, O thou only One, who didst dwell in heaven before ever the
earth and the mountains came into existence. O Runner, O Lord, O
only One, thou maker of things which are, thou hast fashioned the
tongue of the company of the gods, thou hast produced whatsoever
cometh forth from the waters, and thou springest up from them over
the flooded land of the Lake of Horus. Let me snuff the air which
cometh forth from thy nostrils, and the north wind which cometh
forth from thy mother [Nut]. Oh, make thou to be glorious my
shining form (khu), O Osiris,
make thou to be divine my soul (ba)! Thou art worshipped [in] peace (or [in] setting), O lord
of the gods, thou art exalted by reason of thy wondrous works.
Shine thou with thy rays of light upon my body day by day, [upon
me], Osiris the scribe, the teller of the divine offerings of all
the gods, the overseer of the granary of the lords of Abtu
(Abydos), the royal scribe in truth who loveth thee; Ani,
victorious in peace.”Hymn And Litany To Osiris[From the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum No. 10,470, sheet
19).]
“Praise be unto thee, O Osiris, lord of eternity, Unnefer,
Heru-khuti (Harmachis), whose forms are manifold, and whose
attributes are majestic, Ptah-Seker-Tem in Annu (Heliopolis), the
lord of the hidden place, and the creator of Het-ka-Ptah (Memphis)
and of the gods [therein], the guide of the underworld, whom [the
gods] glorify when thou settest in Nut. Isis embraceth thee in
peace, and she driveth away the fiends from the mouth of thy paths.
Thou turnest thy face upon Amentet, and thou makest the earth to
shine as with refined copper. Those who have lain down (i.e., the dead) rise up to see thee,
they breathe the air and they look upon thy face when the Disk
riseth on its horizon; their hearts are at peace inasmuch as they
behold thee, O thou who art Eternity and
Everlastingness!”
Litany
“Homage to thee, [O lord of] starry deities in Annu, and of
heavenly beings in Kher-āba; thou god Unti, who art more glorious
than the gods who are hidden in Annu; oh grant3thou unto me a path
whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have not
spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with
deceit.”
“Homage to thee, O An in Antes, (?) Heru-khuti (Harmachis),
with long strides thou stridest over heaven, O Heru-khuti. Oh,
grant thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am
just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done
aught with deceit.”
“Homage to thee, O Soul of everlastingness, thou Soul who
dwellest in Tattu, Unnefer, son of Nut; thou art lord of Akert. Oh,
grant thou unto me a path wherein I may pass in peace, for I am
just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done
aught with deceit.”
“Homage to thee in thy dominion over Tattu; theUreretcrown is established upon thy
head; thou art the One who maketh the strength which protecteth
himself, and thou dwellest in peace in Tattu. Oh, grant thou unto
me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I
have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with
deceit.”
“Homage to thee, O lord of the Acacia tree, theSekerboat is set upon its sledge; thou
turnest back the Fiend, the worker of evil, and thou causest
theUtchatto rest upon its
seat. Oh, grant thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in peace,
for I am just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have
I done aught with deceit.”
“Homage to thee, O thou who art mighty in thine hour, thou
great and mighty Prince, dweller in An-rut-f,4lord of eternity and
creator of everlastingness, thou art the lord of Suten-henen
(Heracleopolis Magna). Oh, grant thou unto [pg 006] me a path
whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have not
spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with
deceit.”
“Homage to thee, O thou who restest upon Right and Truth,
thou art the lord of Abtu (Abydos), and thy limbs are joined unto
Ta-tchesertet; thou art he to whom fraud and guile are hateful. Oh,
grant thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am
just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done
aught with deceit.”
“Homage to thee, O thou who art within thy boat, thou
bringest Hāpi (i.e., the Nile)
forth from his source; the light shineth upon thy body and thou art
the dweller in Nekhen.5Oh, grant thou unto me
a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have
not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with
deceit.”
“Homage to thee, O creator of the gods, thou King of the
North and of the South, O Osiris, victorious one, ruler of the
world in thy gracious seasons; thou art the lord of the celestial
world.6Oh, grant thou unto me
a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have
not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with
deceit.”
Hymn To Rā[From the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum No. 10,470, sheet
20).]A Hymn of Praise to Rā when he riseth in the eastern part of
heaven. Those who are in his train rejoice, and lo! Osiris Ani,
victorious, saith:
“Hail, thou Disk, thou lord of rays, who risest on the
horizon day by day! Shine thou with thy beams of light upon the
face of Osiris Ani, who is victorious; for he singeth hymns of
praise unto thee at dawn, and he maketh thee to set at eventide
with words of adoration. May the soul of Osiris Ani, the triumphant
one, come forth with thee into heaven, may he go forth in
theMātetboat. May he come into
port in theSektetboat, and may
he cleave his path among the never-resting stars in the
heavens.”Osiris Ani, being in peace and in triumph, adoreth his lord,
the lord of eternity, saying: “Homage to thee, O Heru-khuti
(Harmachis), who art the god Khepera, the self-created; when thou
risest on the horizon and sheddest thy beams of light upon the
lands of the North and of the South, thou art beautiful, yea
beautiful, and all the gods rejoice when they behold thee, the King
of heaven. The goddess Nebt-Unnut is stablished upon thy head; and
her uræi of the South and of the North are upon thy brow; she
taketh up her place before thee. The god Thoth is stablished in the
bows of thy boat to destroy utterly all thy foes. Those who are in
the Tuat (underworld) come forth to meet thee, and they bow in
homage as they come toward thee, to behold [thy] beautiful Image.
And I have come before thee that I may be with thee to behold thy
Disk every day. May I not be shut up in [the tomb], may I not be
turned back, may the limbs of my body be made new again when I view
thy beauties, even as [are those of] all thy favored ones, because
I am one of those who worshipped thee [whilst I lived] upon earth.
May I come in unto the land of eternity, may I come even unto the
everlasting land, for behold, O my lord, this hast thou ordained
for me.”And lo, Osiris Ani triumphant in peace, the triumphant one,
saith: “Homage to thee, O thou who risest in thy horizon as Rā,
thou reposest upon law [which changeth not nor can it be altered].
Thou passest over the sky, and every face watcheth thee and thy
course, for thou hast been hidden from their gaze. Thou dost shew
thyself at dawn and at eventide day by day. TheSektetboat, wherein is thy Majesty,
goeth forth with might; thy beams [shine] upon [all] faces; [the
number] of thy red and yellow rays cannot be known, nor can thy
bright beams be told. The lands of the gods, and the eastern lands
of Punt7must be seen, ere that
which is hidden [in thee] may be measured. Alone and by thyself
thou dost manifest thyself [when] thou comest into being above Nu
(i.e., the sky). May Ani
advance, even as thou dost advance; may he never cease [to go
forward], even as thy Majesty ceaseth not [to go forward], even
though it be for a moment; for with strides dost thou in one little
moment pass [pg 008] over the spaces which would need hundreds of
thousands and millions of years [for man to pass over; this] thou
doest, and then dost thou sink to rest. Thou puttest an end to the
hours of the night, and thou dost count them, even thou; thou
endest them in thine own appointed season, and the earth becometh
light. Thou settest thyself before thy handiwork in the likeness of
Rā; thou risest in the horizon.”Osiris, the scribe Ani, triumphant, declareth his praise of
thee when thou shinest, and when thou risest at dawn he crieth in
his joy at thy birth: “Thou art crowned with the majesty of thy
beauties; thou mouldest thy limbs as thou dost advance, and thou
bringest them forth without birth-pangs in the form of Rā, as thou
dost rise up into the upper air. Grant thou that I may come unto
the heaven which is everlasting, and unto the mountain where dwell
thy favored ones. May I be joined unto those shining beings, holy
and perfect, who are in the underworld; and may I come forth with
them to behold thy beauties when thou shinest at eventide and goest
to thy mother Nu. Thou dost place thyself in the west, and my two
hands are [raised] in adoration [of thee] when thou settest as a
living being. Behold, thou art the maker of eternity, and thou art
adored [when] thou settest in the heavens. I have given my heart
unto thee without wavering, O thou who art mightier than the
gods.”Osiris Ani, triumphant, saith: “A hymn of praise to thee, O
thou who risest like unto gold, and who dost flood the world with
light on the day of thy birth. Thy mother giveth thee birth upon
[her] hand, and thou dost give light unto the course of the Disk. O
thou great Light, who shinest in the heavens, thou dost strengthen
the generations of men with the Nile-flood, and thou dost cause
gladness in all lands, and in all cities, and in all the temples.
Thou art glorious by reason of thy splendors, and thou makest
strong thyka(i.e., Double) withhuandtchefaufoods. O thou who art the
mighty one of victories, thou who art the Power of [all] powers,
who dost make strong thy throne against evil fiends; who art
glorious in majesty in theSektetboat, and who art exceeding mighty in theAtetboat, make thou glorious Osiris
Ani with victory in the underworld; grant thou that in the
netherworld he may be without evil. I pray thee to put away [his]
faults [pg 009] behind thee: grant thou that he may be one of thy
venerable servants who are with the shining ones; may he be joined
unto the souls which are in Ta-tchesertet; and may he journey into
the Sekhet-Aaru by a prosperous and happy decree, he the Osiris,
the scribe, Ani, triumphant.”And the god saith:
“Thou shalt come forth into heaven, thou shalt pass over the
sky, thou shalt be joined into the starry deities. Praises shall be
offered unto thee in thy boat, thou shalt be hymned in theAtetboat, thou shalt behold Rā within
his shrine, thou shalt set together with his Disk day by day, thou
shalt see theAntfish when it
springeth into being in the waters of turquoise, and thou shalt see
theAbtufish in his hour. It
shall come to pass that the Evil One shall fall when he layeth a
snare to destroy thee, and the joints of his neck and of his back
shall be hacked asunder. Rā [saileth] with a fair wind, and
theSektetboat draweth on and
cometh into port. The mariners of Rā rejoice, and the heart of
Nebt-ānkh8is glad, for the enemy
of her lord hath fallen to the ground. Thou shalt behold Horus on
the standing-place of the pilot of the boat, and Thoth and Maāt
shall stand one upon each side of him. All the gods shall rejoice
when they behold Rā coming in peace to make the hearts of the
shining ones to live, and Osiris Ani, victorious, the scribe of the
divine offerings of the lords of Thebes, shall be along with
them!”Hymn To The Setting Sun[From the Papyrus of Mut-hetep (British Museum No, 10,010,
sheet 5).][Another Chapter of] the mystery of the Tuat (underworld) and
of passing through the unseen netherworld, and of seeing the Disk
when he setteth in Amentet, [when] he is adored by the gods and by
theKhus in the underworld, and
[when] the Soul which dwelleth in Rā is made perfect. He is made
mighty before Tem; he is made great before Osiris; he setteth his
terror before the company of the gods who are the guides of the
netherworld; he maketh long (?) his steps and he maketh his face to
enter (?) [with that of] [pg 010] the great god. Now everyKhu, for whom these words shall have
been said, shall come forth by day in any form which he is pleased
to take; he shall gain power among the gods of the Tuat
(underworld), and they shall recognize him as one of themselves;
and he shall enter in at the hidden gate with power.The lady Mut-hetep, victorious, singeth hymns of praise to
thee [saying]: “O Rā-Tem, in thy splendid progress thou risest, and
thou settest as a living being in the glories of the western
horizon; thou settest in thy territory which is in Manu.9Thy uræus is behind
thee, thy uræus is behind thee. Homage to thee, O thou who art in
peace, homage to thee, O thou who art in peace. Thou art joined
unto the Eye of Tem, and it chooseth its powers of protection [to
place] behind thy members. Thou goest forth through heaven, thou
travellest over the earth, and thou journeyest onward. O Luminary,
the northern and southern halves of heaven come to thee and they
bow low in adoration, and they pay homage unto thee, day by day.
The gods of Amentet rejoice in thy beauties and the unseen places
sing hymns of praise unto thee. Those who dwell in theSektetboat go round about thee, and
the Souls of the East pay homage to thee, and when they meet thy
Majesty they cry: ‘Come, come in peace!’ There is a shout of
welcome to thee, O lord of heaven and governor of Amentet! Thou art
acknowledged by Isis who seeth her son in thee, the lord of fear,
the mighty one of terror. Thou settest as a living being in the
hidden place. Thy father [Ta-]tunen raiseth thee up and he placeth
both his hands behind thee; thou becomest endowed with divine
attributes in [thy] members of earth; thou wakest in peace and thou
settest in Manu.10Grant thou that I may
become a being honored before Osiris, and that I may come to thee,
O Rā-Tem! I have adored thee, therefore do thou for me that which I
wish. Grant thou that I may be victorious in the presence of the
company of the gods. Thou are beautiful, O Rā, in thy western
horizon of Amentet, thou lord of Maāt, thou mighty one of fear,
thou whose attributes are majestic, O thou who art greatly beloved
by those who dwell in the Tuat (underworld); thou shinest with thy
beams upon the beings that are therein perpetually, [pg 011] and
thou sendest forth thy light upon the path of Re-stau. Thou openest
up the path of the double Lion-god, thou settest the gods upon
[their] thrones, and theKhus
in their abiding places. The heart of Naarerf11is glad [when] Rā
setteth, the heart of Naarerf is glad when Rā setteth.”
“Hail, O ye gods of the land of Amentet who make offerings
and oblations unto Rā-Tem, ascribe ye glory [unto him when] ye meet
him. Grasp ye your weapons and overthrow ye the fiend Seba on
behalf of Rā, and repulse the fiend Nebt on behalf of Osiris. The
gods of the land of Amentet rejoice and lay hold upon the cords of
theSektetboat, and they come
in peace; the gods of the hidden place who dwell in Amentet
triumph.”
“Hail, Thoth, who didst make Osiris to triumph over his
enemies, make thou Mut-hetep, victorious, to triumph over her
enemies in the presence of the great divine sovereign chiefs who
live with Osiris, the lord of life. The great god who dwelleth in
his Disk cometh forth, that is, Horus the avenger of his father
Unnefer-Rā. Osiris setteth, and theKhus who are in the Tuat (underworld)
say: Homage to thee, O thou who comest as Tem, and who comest into
being as the creator of the gods. Homage to thee, O thou who comest
as the holy Soul of souls, who dwellest in the horizon. Homage to
thee who art more glorious than [all] the gods and who illuminest
the Tuat with thine Eye. Homage to thee who sailest in thy glory
and who goest round about it in thy Disk.”The following variant of the above hymn is translated from
the text in the Papyrus of Nekhtu-Amen (Naville, “Todtenbuch,” Bd.
II. p. 23).Another Chapter of the mystery of the Tuat (underworld) and
of traversing the unseen places of the underworld, of seeing the
Disk when he setteth in Amentet, [when] he is adored by the gods
and by theKhus of the Tuat
(underworld), and [when] the divineKhuwhich dwelleth within Rā is made
perfect. He setteth his might before Rā, he setteth his power
before Tem, [he setteth his strength] before Khenti-Amentet, and he
setteth his terror before the company of the gods. The Osiris of
the gods goeth as leader [pg 012] through the Tuat (underworld), he
crasheth through mountains, he bursteth through rocks, he maketh
glad (?) the heart of everyKhu. This composition shall be recited by the deceased when he
cometh forth and when he goeth in with the gods, among whom he
findeth no opposition; then shall he come forth by day in all the
manifold and exceedingly numerous forms which he may be pleased to
take. [The Osiris ... saith:]
“A hymn of praise to Rā at eventide [when] he setteth as a
living being in Baakha.12The great god who
dwelleth in his Disk riseth in his two eyes13and all theKhus of the underworld receive him in
his horizon of Amentet; they shout praises unto Heru-khuti
(Harmachis) in his form of Tem, and they sing hymns of joy to Rā
when they have received him at the head of his beautiful path of
Amentet.”He (i.e., the deceased)
saith: “Praise be unto thee, O Rā, praise be unto thee, O Tem, in
thy splendid progress. Thou hast risen and thou hast put on
strength, and thou settest like a living being amid thy glories in
the horizon of Amentet, in thy domain which is in Manu. Thy
uræus-goddess is behind thee; thy uræus-goddess is behind thee.
Hail to thee, in peace; hail to thee, in peace. Thou joinest
thyself unto the Eye of Horus, and thou hidest thyself within its
secret place; it destroyeth for thee all the convulsions of thy
face, it maketh thee strong with life, and thou livest. It bindeth
its protecting amulets behind thy members. Thou sailest forth over
heaven, and thou makest the earth to be stablished; thou joinest
thyself unto the upper heaven, O Luminary. The two regions of the
East and West make adoration unto thee, bowing low and paying
homage unto thee, and they praise thee day by day; the gods of
Amentet rejoice in thy splendid beauties. The hidden places adore
thee, the aged ones make offerings unto thee, and they create for
thee protecting powers. The divine beings who dwell in the eastern
and western horizons transport thee, and those who are in
theSektetboat convey thee
round and about. The Souls of Amentet cry out unto thee and say
unto thee when they meet thy majesty (Life, Health, Strength!),
‘All hail, all hail!’ When thou comest forth in [pg 013] peace
there arise shouts of delight to thee, O thou lord of heaven, thou
Prince of Amentet. Thy mother Isis embraceth thee, and in thee she
recognizeth her son, the lord of fear, the mighty one of terror.
Thou settest as a living being within the dark portal. Thy father
Tatunen lifteth thee up and he stretcheth out his two hands behind
thee; thou becomest a divine being in the earth. Thou wakest as
thou settest, and thy habitation is in Manu. Grant thou that I may
be venerated before Osiris, and come thou [to me], O Rā-Tem. Since
thou hast been adored [by me] that which I wish thou shalt do for
me day by day. Grant thou victory [unto me] before the great
company of the gods, O Rā who art doubly beautiful in thy horizon
of Amentet, thou lord of Maāt who dwellest in the horizon. The fear
of thee is great, thy forms are majestic, and the love of thee is
great among those who dwell in the underworld.”Hymn To The Setting Sun[From a Papyrus of the nineteenth dynasty preserved at Dublin
(see Naville, “Todtenbuch,” Bd. I. Bl. 19).]A hymn of Praise To Ra-Heru-khuti (Ra-Harmachis) When He
Setteth in the Western Part of Heaven. He (i.e., the deceased) saith:
“Homage to thee, O Rā [who] in thy sitting art Tem-Heru-khuti
(Tem-Harmachis), thou divine god, thou self-created being, thou
primeval matter [from which all things were made]. When [thou]
appearest in the bows of [thy] bark men shout for joy at thee, O
maker of the gods! Thou didst stretch out the heavens wherein thy
two eyes14might travel, thou
didst make the earth to be a vast chamber for thy Khus, so that
every man might know his fellow. TheSektetboat is glad, and theMātetboat rejoiceth; and they greet
thee with exaltation as thou journeyest along. The god Nu is
content, and thy mariners are satisfied; the uræus-goddess hath
overthrown thine enemies, and thou hast carried off the legs of
Apep. Thou art beautiful, O Rā, each day, and thy mother Nut
embraceth thee; thou settest in beauty, and thy heart is [pg 014]
glad in the horizon of Manu, and the holy beings therein rejoice.
Thou shinest there with thy beams, O thou great god, Osiris, the
everlasting Prince. The lords of the zones of the Tuat in their
caverns stretch out their hands in adoration before thyKa(double), and they cry out to thee,
and they all come forth in the train of thy form shining
brilliantly. The hearts of the lords of the Tuat (underworld) are
glad when thou sendest forth thy glorious light in Amentet; their
two eyes are directed toward thee, and they press forward to see
thee, and their hearts rejoice when they do see thee. Thou
hearkenest unto the acclamations of those that are in the funeral
chest,15thou doest away with
their helplessness and drivest away the evils which are about them.
Thou givest breath to their nostrils and they take hold of the bows
of thy bark in the horizon of Manu. Thou art beautiful each day, O
Rā, and may thy mother Nut embrace Osiris ...,16victorious.”The Chapter Of The Chaplet Of Victory[From Lepsius “Todtenbuch,” Bl. 13.]The Chapter of the Chaplet of Victory. Osiris Auf-ānkh,
victorious, born of Sheret-Amsu, victorious, saith:
“Thy father Tem hath woven for thee a beautiful chaplet of
victory [to be placed] on [thy] living brow, O thou who lovest the
gods, and thou shalt live forever. Osiris-khent-Amentet17hath made thee to
triumph over thine enemies, and thy father Seb hath decreed for
thee all his inheritance. Come, therefore, O Horus, son of Isis,
for thou, O son of Osiris, sittest upon the throne of thy father Rā
to overthrow thine enemies, for he hath ordained for thee the two
lands to their utmost limits. Atem hath [also] ordained this, and
the company of the gods hath confirmed the splendid power of the
victory of Horus the son of Isis and the son of Osiris forever and
forever. And Osiris Auf-ānkh shall be victorious forever and ever.
O Osiris-khent-Amentet, the whole of the northern and southern
parts of the heavens, and every god and every goddess, who are in
heaven and who are upon earth [will] the victory of [pg 015] Horus,
the son of Isis and the son of Osiris, over his enemies in the
presence of Osiris-khent-Amentet who will make Osiris Auf-ānkh,
victorious, to triumph over his enemies in the presence of
Osiris-khent-Amentet, Un-nefer, the son of Nut, on the day of
making him to triumph over Set and his fiends in the presence of
the great sovereign chiefs who are in Annu (Heliopolis); on the
night of the battle and overthrow of the Seba-fiend in the presence
of the great sovereign princes who are in Abtu; on the night of
making Osiris to triumph over his enemies make thou Osiris
Auf-ānkh, triumphant, to triumph over his enemies in the presence
of the great sovereign princes, who are in the horizon of Amentet;
on the day of the festival of Haker in the presence of the great
sovereign princes who are in Tattu; on the night of the setting up
of the Tet in Tattu in the presence of the great sovereign princes
who are in the ways of the damned; on the night of the judgment of
those who shall be annihilated in the presence of the great
sovereign princes who are in Sekhem (Letopolis); on the night of
the ‘things of the altars in Sekhem’ in the presence of the great
sovereign princes who are in Pe and Tepu; on the night of the
stablishing of the inheriting by Horus of the things of his father
Osiris in the presence of the great sovereign princes who are at
the great festival of the ploughing and turning up of the earth in
Tattu, or (as others say), [in] Abtu; on the night of the weighing
of words,” or (as others say), “weighing of locks in the presence
of the great sovereign princes who are in An-rut-f on its place; on
the night when Horus receiveth the birth-chamber of the gods in the
presence of the great sovereign princes who are in the lands of
Rekhti(?); on the night when Isis lieth down to watch [and] to make
lamentation for her brother in the presence of the great sovereign
princes who are in Re-stau; on the night of making Osiris to
triumph over all his enemies.”
“Horus repeated [these] words four times, and all his enemies
fell headlong and were overthrown and were cut to pieces; and
Osiris Auf-ānkh, triumphant, repeated [these] words four times,
therefore let all his enemies fall headlong, and be overthrown and
cut to pieces. Horus the son of Isis and son of Osiris celebrated
in turn millions of festivals, and all his enemies fell headlong,
and were overthrown and cut [pg 016] to pieces. Their habitation
hath gone forth to the block of the East, their heads have been cut
off; their necks have been destroyed; their thighs have been cut
off; they have been given over to the Great Destroyer who dwelleth
in the valley of the grave; and they shall never come forth from
under the restraint of the god Seb.”this chapter shall be recited over the divine chaplet which
is laid upon the face of the deceased, and thou shalt cast incense
into the fire on behalf of osiris auf-ankh, triumphant, born of
sheret-amsu, triumphant; thus shalt thou cause him to triumph over
his enemies, dead or alive, and he shall be among the followers of
osiris; and a hand shall be stretched out to him with meat and
drink in the presence of the god. [this chapter] shall be said by
thee twice at dawn—now it is a never-failing charm—regularly and
continually.The Chapter Of The Victory Over Enemies.[From the Papyrus of Nebseni (British Museum No. 9,900, sheet
12).]
“Hail, Thoth, who didst make Osiris to triumph over his
enemies, snare thou the enemies of Osiris, the scribe Nebseni, the
lord of piety, in the presence of the great sovereign princes of
every god and of every goddess; in the presence of the great
sovereign princes who are in Annu (Heliopolis) on the night of the
battle and of the overthrow of the Sebau-fiend in Tattu; on the
night of making to stand up the double Tet in Sekhem (Letopolis);
on the night of the things of the night in Sekhem, in Pe, and in
Tepu;18on the night of the
stablishing of Horus in the heritage of the things of his father in
the double land of Rekhti(?); on the night when Isis maketh
lamentation at the side of her brother Osiris in Abtu (Abydos); on
the night of the Haker festival of the distinguishing [between] the
dead (i.e., the damned) and
theKhus on the path of the
dead (i.e., the damned); on
the night of the judgment of those who are to be annihilated at the
great [festival of] the ploughing and the turning up of the earth
in Naare-rut-f19in Re-stau; and on the
night of making Horus to triumph [pg 017] over his enemies. Horus
is mighty, the northern and southern halves of heaven rejoice,
Osiris is content thereat and his heart is glad. Hail, Thoth, make
thou to triumph Osiris, the scribe Nebseni, over his enemies in the
presence of the sovereign princes of every god and every goddess,
and in the presence of you, ye sovereign princes who passed
judgment on Osiris behind the shrine.”In the Saïte Recension this chapter has no vignette, but it
has the title “Another Chapter of the Chaplet of Victory,” and is
arranged in tabular form. The words, “Hail, Thoth, make Osiris
Auf-ānkh, triumphant, to triumph over his enemies even as thou
didst make Osiris to triumph over his enemies,” which are written
in two horizontal lines, are to be repeated before each column of
text. The “great sovereign princes” invoked are those of: (1) Annu
(Heliopolis), (2) Tattu, (3) Sekhem (Letopolis), (4) Pe and Tep,
(5) An-arut-f, (6) the double land of Rekhti, (7) Re-stau, (8)
Abtu, (9) the paths of the dead, (10) the ploughing festival in
Tattu, (11) Kher-āba, (12) Osiris, (13) heaven and earth, (14)
every god and every goddess. The rubric reads:if this chapter be recited regularly and always by a man who
hath purified himself in water of natron, he shall come forth by
day after he hath come into port (i.e., is dead), and he shall
perform all the transformations which his heart shall dictate, and
he shall come forth from every fire.The Chapter Of Giving A Mouth To The OverseerThe Chapter of giving a mouth to the overseer of the house,
Nu, triumphant, in the underworld. He saith:
“Homage to thee, O thou lord of brightness, thou who art at
the head of the Great House, prince of the night and of thick
darkness. I have come unto thee being a purekhu. Thy two hands are behind thee,
and thou hast thy lot with [thy] ancestors. Oh, grant thou unto me
my mouth that I may speak therewith; and guide thou to me my heart
at the season when there is cloud and darkness.”The Chapter Of Giving A Mouth To Osiris Ani[From the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum No. 10,470, sheet
6).]The Chapter of giving a mouth to Osiris Ani, the scribe and
teller of the holy offerings of all the gods, triumphant, in the
underworld. He saith:
“I rise out of the egg in the hidden land. May my mouth be
given unto me that I may speak therewith in the presence of the
great god, the lord of the Tuat (underworld). May my hand and my
arm not be forced back in the presence of the sovereign princes of
any god. I am Osiris, the lord of Re-stau; may I, Osiris the scribe
Ani, triumphant, have a portion with him who is on the top of the
steps (i.e., Osiris).
According to the desire of my heart, I have come from the Pool of
Fire, and I have quenched the fire.”Opening The Mouth Of Osiris[From the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum No. 10,470, sheet
15).]The Chapter of opening the mouth of Osiris. The scribe Ani,
triumphant, saith:
“May the good Ptah open my mouth, and may the god of my city
loose the swathings, even the swathings which are over my mouth.
Moreover, may Thoth, being filled and furnished with charms, come
and loose the bandages, even the bandages of Set which fetter my
mouth; and may the god Tem hurl them at those who would fetter [me]
with them, and drive them back. May my mouth be opened, may my
mouth be unclosed by Shu with his iron knife wherewith he opened
the mouths of the gods. I am the goddess Sekhet, and I sit upon
[my] place in the great wind(?) of heaven. I am the great goddess
Sah who dwelleth among the Souls of Annu (Heliopolis). Now as
concerning every charm and all the words which may be spoken
against me, may the gods resist them, and may each and every one of
the company of the gods withstand them.”The Chapter Of Bringing Charms To Osiris[From the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum No. 10,470, sheet
15).]The Chapter of bringing charms unto Osiris Ani [in the
underworld]. He saith:
“I am Tem-Khepera, who brought himself into being upon the
thigh of his divine mother. Those who are in Nu (i.e., the sky) are made wolves, and
those who are among the sovereign princes are become hyenas.
Behold, I gather together the charm [from every place where] it is,
and from every man with whom it is, swifter than greyhounds and
quicker than light. Hail, thou who towest along theMākhentboat of Rā, the stays of thy
sails and of thy rudder are taut in the wind as thou sailest up the
Pool of Fire in the underworld. Behold, thou gatherest together the
charm from every place where it is, and from every man with whom it
is, swifter than greyhounds and quicker than light, [the charm]
which created the forms of being from the ... mother, and which
either createth the gods or maketh them silent, and which giveth
the heat of fire unto the gods. Behold, the charm is given unto me,
from wherever it is [and from him with whom it is], swifter than
greyhounds and quicker than light,” or (as others say) “quicker
than a shadow.”The Chapter Of Memory[From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No, 10,477, sheet
5).]The Chapter of making a man to possess memory in the
underworld. The chancellor-in-chief, Nu, triumphant, the overseer
of the palace, the son of the chief chancellor Amen-hetep,
saith:
“May my name be given to me in the Great House, and may I
remember my name in the House of Fire on the night of counting the
years and of telling the number of the months. I am with the Divine
One, and I sit on the eastern side of heaven. If any god whatsoever
should advance unto me, let me be able to proclaim his name
forthwith.”The Chapter Of Giving A Heart To Osiris[From the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum No. 10,470, sheet
15).]The Chapter of giving a heart to Osiris Ani in the
underworld. He saith:
“May my heart (ab)20be with me in the
House of Hearts! May my heart (hat) be with me in the House of Hearts! May my heart be with me,
and may it rest there, [or] I shall not eat of the cakes of Osiris
on the eastern side of the Lake of Flowers, neither shall I have a
boat wherein to go down the Nile, nor another wherein to go up, nor
shall I be able to sail down the Nile with thee. May my mouth [be
given] to me that I may speak therewith, and my two legs to walk
therewith, and my two hands and arms to overthrow my foe. May the
doors of heaven be opened unto me; may Seb, the Prince21of the gods, open wide
his two jaws unto me; may he open my two eyes which are
blindfolded; may he cause me to stretch apart my two legs which are
bound together; and may Anpu (Anubis) make my thighs firm so that I
may stand upon them. May the goddess Sekhet make me to rise so that
I may ascend unto heaven, and may that be done which I command in
the House of theforeign(double) of Ptah (i.e.,
Memphis). I understand with my heart. I have gained the mastery
over my heart, I have gained the mastery over my two hands, I have
gained the mastery over my legs, I have gained the power to do
whatsoever myka(double)
pleaseth. My soul shall not be fettered to my body at the gates of
the underworld; but I shall enter in peace and I shall come forth
in peace.”The Chapter Of Preserving The Heart[From the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum No. 10,470, sheets
15 and 16).]The Chapter of not letting the heart (hati) of a man be taken
from him in the underworld.22Saith Osiris
Ani:
“Hail, ye who carry away hearts! [Hail,] ye who steal
[hearts, and who make the heart of a man to go through its
transformations according to his deeds, let not what he hath done
harm him before you].23Homage to you, O ye
lords of eternity, ye possessors of everlastingness, take ye not
this heart of Osiris Ani into your grasp, this heart of Osiris, and
cause ye not words of evil to spring up against it; because this is
the heart of Osiris Ani, triumphant, and it belongeth unto him of
many names (i.e., Thoth), the
mighty one whose words are his limbs, and who sendeth forth his
heart to dwell in his body. The heart of Osiris Ani is triumphant,
it is made new before the gods, he hath gained power over it, he
hath not been spoken to [according to] what he hath done. He hath
gotten power over his own members. His heart obeyeth him, he is the
lord thereof, it is in his body, and it shall never fall away
therefrom. I, Osiris, the scribe Ani, victorious in peace, and
triumphant in the beautiful Amenta and on the mountain of eternity,
bid thee to be obedient unto me in the underworld.”The Chapter Of Preserving The Heart[From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No. 10,477, sheet
5).]The Chapter of not letting the heart of the overseer of the
palace, the chancellor-in-chief, Nu, triumphant, be carried away
from him in the underworld. He saith:
“Hail, thou Lion-god! I am the Flower Bush (Unb). That which is an abomination
unto me is the divine block. [pg 022] Let not this my heart
(hāti) be carried away from me
by the fighting gods in Annu. Hail, thou who dost wind bandages
round Osiris and who hast seen Set! Hail, thou who returnest after
smiting and destroying him before the mighty ones! This my heart
(ab) [sitteth] and weepeth for
itself before Osiris; it hath made supplication for me. I have
given unto him and I have decreed unto him the thoughts of the
heart in the House of the god Usekh-hra,24and I have brought to
him sand (sic) at the entry to
Khemennu (Hermopolis Magna). Let not this my heart (hāti) be carried away from me! I make
thee to dwell(?) upon this throne, O thou who joinest together
hearts (hātu) [in Sekhet-hetep
(with) years] of strength against all things that are an
abomination unto thee, and to carry off food from among the things
which belong unto thee, and are in thy grasp by reason of thy
twofold strength. And this my heart (hāti) is devoted to the decrees of the
god Tem who leadeth me into the dens of Suti, but let not this my
heart which hath done its desire before the sovereign princes who
are in the underworld be given unto him. When they find the leg and
the swathings they bury them.”The Chapter Of Preserving The Heart[From the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum No. 10,470, sheet
15).]The Chapter of not letting the heart of a man be taken away
from him in the underworld. Osiris Ani, triumphant,
saith:
“Turn thou back, O messenger of every god! Is it that thou
art come [to carry away] this my heart which liveth? But my heart
which liveth shall not be given unto thee. [As I] advance, the gods
hearken unto my offerings, and they all fall down upon their faces
in their own places.”The Chapter Of Preserving The Heart[From the Papyrus of Amen-hetep (Naville, “Todtenbuch,” Bd.
I. Bl. 40).]The Chapter of not allowing the heart of Amen-hetep,
triumphant, to be carried away dead in the underworld. The deceased
saith:
“My heart is with me, and it shall never come to pass that it
shall be carried away. I am the lord of hearts, the slayer of the
heart. I live in right and truth (Maāt) and I have my being therein. I
am Horus, the dweller in hearts, who is within the dweller in the
body. I live in my word, and my heart hath being. Let not my heart
be taken away from me, let it not be wounded, and may neither
wounds nor gashes be dealt upon me because it hath been taken away
from me. Let me have my being in the body of [my] father Seb, [and
in the body of my] mother Nut. I have not done that which is held
in abomination by the gods; let me not suffer defeat there, [but
let me be] triumphant.”The Heart Of Carnelian[From the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum No. 10,470, sheet
33).]The Chapter of a heart of Carnelian. Osiris Ani, triumphant,
saith:
“I am theBennu, the soul
of Rā, and the guide of the gods in the Tuat (underworld). Their
divine souls come forth upon earth to do the will of theirkas; let, therefore, the soul of
Osiris Ani come forth to do the will of hiska.”Preserving The Heart[From Lepsius, “Todtenbuch,” Bl. 16.]The Chapter of not letting the heart of a man be driven away
from him in the underworld. Osiris Auf-ānkh, triumphant, born of
Sheret-Amsu, triumphant, saith:
“My heart, my mother; my heart, my mother! My heart of my
existence upon earth. May naught stand up to oppose me in judgment;
may there be no opposition to me in the presence of the sovereign
princes; may [no evil] be wrought against me in the presence of the
gods; may there be no parting [of thee] from me in the presence of
the great god, the lord of Amentet. Homage to thee, O thou heart of
Osiris-khent-Amentet! Homage to you, O my reins! Homage to you, O
ye gods who dwell in the divine clouds, and who are exalted (or
holy) by reason of your sceptres! Speak ye fair words for the
Osiris Auf-ānkh, and make ye him to prosper before Nehebka. And
behold, though I be joined unto the earth, and am in the mighty
innermost part of heaven, let me remain on the earth and not die in
Amentet, and let me be akhutherein forever and ever.”this [chapter] shall be recited over a basalt scarab, which
shall be set in a gold setting, and it shall be placed inside the
heart of the man25for whom the
ceremonies of “opening the mouth” and of anointing with unguent
have been performed. and there shall be recited by way of a magical
charm the words: “my heart, my mother; my heart, my mother! my
heart of transformations.”Preserving The Heart[From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No. 10,477, sheet
5).]The Chapter of not letting the heart of the overseer of the
palace, the chancellor-in-chief, Nu, triumphant, be driven away
from him in the underworld. He Saith:
“O my heart, my mother; O my heart, my mother! O my heart of
my existence upon earth. May naught stand up to oppose me in
judgment in the presence of the lords of the trial; let it not be
said of me and of that which I have done, ‘He hath done deeds
against that which is right and true’; may naught be against me in
the presence of the great god, the lord of Amentet. Homage to thee,
O my heart! Homage to thee, O my heart! Homage to you, O my reins!
Homage to you, O ye gods who dwell in the divine clouds, and who
are exalted (or holy) by reason of your sceptres! Speak ye [for me]
fair things to Rā, and make ye me [pg 025] to prosper before
Nehebka. And behold me, even though I be joined to the earth in the
mighty innermost parts thereof, let me remain upon the earth and
let me not die in Amentet, but become aKhutherein.”Preserving The Heart[From the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum No. 10,470, sheet
15).]The Chapter of not letting the heart of Osiris, the scribe of
the holy offerings of all the gods, Ani, triumphant, be driven from
him in the underworld. He saith:
“My heart, my mother; my heart, my mother! My heart whereby I
came into being! May naught stand up to oppose me at [my] judgment;
may there be no opposition to me in the presence of the sovereign
princes (Tchatcha); may there
be no parting of thee from me in the presence of him that keepeth
the Balance! Thou art myka,
the dweller in my body; the god Khnemu who knitteth and
strengtheneth my limbs. Mayest thou come forth into the place of
happiness whither we go. May theShenit(i.e., the divine officers of the court
of Osiris), who form the conditions of the lives of men, not cause
my name to stink. [Let it be satisfactory unto us, and let the
listening be satisfactory unto us, and let there be joy of heart
unto us at the weighing of words. Let not that which is false be
uttered against me before the great god, the lord of Amentet.
Verily how great shalt thou be when thou risest in
triumph!]”26Rubric[From the Papyrus of Amen-hetep (see Naville, “Todtenbuch,”
Bd. II. p. 99).]these words are to be said over a scarab of green stone
encircled with a band of refined copper and [having] a ring of
silver, which shall be placed on the neck of thekhu.this chapter was found in the city of khemennu (hermopolis
magna) under the feet of [the statue of] this god. [it was
inscribed] upon a slab of iron of the south, in the writing of the
god himself, in the time of the [pg 026] majesty of the king of the
north and of the south, men-kau-ra,27triumphant, by the
royal son heru-ta-ta-f, who discovered it while he was on his
journey to make an inspection of the temples and of their
estates.Beating Back The Crocodile[From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No. 10,477, sheet
5).]The Chapter of beating back the Crocodile that cometh to
carry away the Charm from Nu, the overseer of the palace, the
chancellor-in-chief, triumphant, the son of the overseer of the
palace, Amen-hetep, triumphant, in the underworld. He
saith:
“Get thee back, return, get thee back, thou crocodile-fiend
Sui; thou shalt not advance to me, for I live by reason of the
magical words which I have by me. I do not utter that name of thine
to the great god who will cause thee to come to the two divine
envoys; the name of the one is Betti,28and the name of the
other is ‘Hra-k-en-Maāt.’29Heaven hath power over
its seasons, and the magical word hath power over that which is in
its possession, let therefore my mouth have power over the magical
word which is therein. My front teeth are like unto flint knives,
and my jaw-teeth are like unto the Nome of Tutef.30Hail thou that sittest
with thine eyeball upon these my magical words! Thou shalt not
carry them away, O thou crocodile that livest by means of magical
words!”[In the Turin Papyrus (Lepsius, op. cit., Bl. 16) the
following lines are added to this chapter:]
“I am the Prince in the field. I, even I, am Osiris, who hath
shut in his father Seb together with his mother Nut on the day of
the great slaughter. My father is Seb and my mother is Nut. I am
Horus, the first-born of Rā, who is crowned. I am Anpu (Anubis) on
the day of reckoning. I, even I, am Osiris the prince who goeth in
and declareth the offerings which are written down. I am the
guardian of the door of Osiris, [pg 027] even I. I have come, I
have become glorious (or aKhu), I have been reckoned up, I am strong, I have come and I
avenge mine own self. I have sat in the birth-chamber of Osiris,
and I was born with him, and I renew my youth along with him. I
have laid hold upon the Thigh which was by Osiris, and I have
opened the mouth of the gods therewith, I sit upon the place where
he sitteth, and I write down the number [of the things] which make
strong(?) the heart, thousands of loaves of bread, thousands of
vases of beer, which are upon the altars of his father Osiris,
[numbers of] jackals, wolves, oxen, red fowl, geese and ducks.
Horus hath done away with the sacrifices of Thoth. I fill the
office of priest in the regions above, and I write down there [the
things] which make strong the heart. I make offerings (or offerings
are made to me) at the altars of the Prince of Tattu, and I have my
being through the oblations [made to] him. I snuff the wind of the
East by his head, and I lay hold upon the breezes of the West
thereby.... I go round about heaven in the four quarters thereof, I
stretch out my hand and grasp the breezes of the south [which] are
upon its hair. Grant unto me air among the venerable beings and
among those who eat bread.”if this chapter be known by [the deceased] he shall come
forth by day, he shall rise up to walk upon the earth among the
living, and he shall never fail and come to an end, never, never,
never.Beating Back The Crocodile[From Lepsius, “Todtenbuch,” Bll. 16 and 17.]The Chapter of beating back the Crocodile that cometh to
carry away the magical words from the Khu in the underworld. Osiris
Auf-ānkh, triumphant, saith:
“The Mighty One fell down upon the place where he is, or (as
others say), upon his belly, but the company of the gods caught him
and set him up again. [My] soul cometh and it speaketh with its
father, and the Mighty One delivereth it from these eight31crocodiles. I know
them by their names and [what] they live upon, and I am he who hath
delivered his father from them.”
“Get thee back, O Crocodile that dwellest in the West, thou
that livest upon the stars which never rest, for that which is an
abomination unto thee is in my belly, O thou that hast eaten the
forehead of Osiris. I am Set.”
“Get thee back, O Crocodile that dwellest in the West, for
the serpent-fiend Nāau is in my belly, and I will give him unto
thee; let not thy flame be against me.”
“Get thee back, O Crocodile that dwellest in the East, who
feedest upon those who eat their own filth, for that which is an
abomination unto thee is in my belly; I advance, I am
Osiris.”
“Get thee back, O Crocodile that dwellest in the East, the
serpent-fiend Nāau is in my belly, and I will give [him] unto thee;
let not thy flame be against me.”
“Get thee back, O Crocodile that dwellest in the South, who
feedest upon filth, and waste, and dirt, for that which is an
abomination unto thee is in my belly; shall not the flame be on thy
hand? I am Sept.”
“Get thee back, O Crocodile that dwellest in the South, for I
am safe by reason of my charm; my fist is among the flowers and I
will not give it unto thee.”
“
